Painting

Title:

Eliza Mack Clark

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

2020.014.05

Creator:

Porter, Rufus (1792-1884)Artist

Date:

circa 1825

Description:

Painting. Portrait of Eliza Mack Clark (1807-1887), attributed to Rufus Porter (1792-1884). Bust-length profile, facing right. Watercolor on paper. Églomisé painted glass liner and gilded gesso on wood rectangular frame with rope band. Inscription in ink on reverse of frame: "Eliz. M. Clark / Born Feb. 13, 1807 / Died Jan. 7, 1887 / Eliz. daughter of / Robert Clark born 1772 / Eliz. grandmother of / C. (Charles) S. Adams Derry, N.H. / Eliz Clark was wife / of Wm. Adams descendant / of John Adams & John Quincy Adams / Robt Clark 1719 was / father of Rob. Clark born / 1772".

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-6.1 W-5.2 inches

Provenance:

Eliza Mack Clark (1807-1887) was the daughter of Robert Clark (1772-1816), who was the son of Samuel Clark (1738-1790) and Sarah Holmes (1744-1776). Robert married Mary Cochrane (1775-1830) in 1797 in Derry, NH. The Clarks and the Cochrans were third generation descendants of Scots-Irish immigrants who had come from Londonderry, Ireland in the 1720s. They were middle class farmers in Derry and Londonderry through the 19th century.

According to notes on the reverse of the family record, silhouettes, and portrait, they descended from Eliza M. (Clark) Adams (1807-1887), through her son, William R. Adams (1839-1910), to her grandson, Charles S. Adams (1872-1937) of Derry. The inscription on the back of the family register frame provides information about the provenance. The Clark family register, seven silhouettes, and one watercolor portrait were acquired from Charles S. Adams of Derry, NH, by Roger T. Bacon (1904-1982), antiques dealer, of Brentwood, NH. He in turn sold them to Laurence S. and Helen Alspaugh, of Greensboro, NC, in July 1971. They were offered as Lot 1131, Brunk Auctions, March 28, 2020, purchased by the donors and given to the Society.

Stylistically, the profile watercolor portrait of Eliza M. Clark is attributable as the work of artist and inventor Rufus Porter (1792-1884), who traveled through New England working as a portrait painter. Of particular note, Porter worked at the Adams Female Academy in Derry, NH, painting thirteen mural panels on walls of the second floor of the academy building probably sometime during the 1830s. Eliza Clark, depicted in the profile watercolor portrait attributed to Porter based on the style and technique, attended the Academy in 1824. While at the Academy, she was taught by famed 19th-century women educators Zilpah P. Grant and Mary Lyon. Porter also made silhouettes.

Credit Line:

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Garvin and William W. Upton

People:

Porter, Rufus (1792-1884)

Subjects:

Miniatures (Paintings)